II E>  RARY 

OF   THL 

U  N  I  VERSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 


IATURAL  HISTORY  SURVE 

530.5 


v.10 
cop.3 


MAMMALS    FROM   THE   COAST  AND    ISLANDS   OF 
NORTHERN    SOUTH   AMERICA. 


BY  WILFRED  H.  OSGOOD. 


While  collecting  birds  for  the  Field  Museum  during  1908  and 
1909,  Dr.  N.  Dearborn  and  the  late  Mr.  John  F.  Ferry  secured  a  few 
specimens  of  mammals  in  northern  Venezuela  and  on  several  of  the 
nearby  islands.  Most  of  these  are  such  as  chanced  to  fall  to  their 
guns,  since  they  carried  no  traps  and  made  no  special  effort  to  obtain 
a  representative  collection  of  mammals.  The  collection,  therefore, 
is  a  small  one,  but  so  little  mammal  collecting  has  been  done  in  this 
region  that  many  of  the  specimens  are  of  considerable  interest  and 
several  prove  to  belong  to  undescribed  forms.  The  principal  localities 
represented  are  in  the  districts  of  Aragua  and  Zulia,  Venezuela,  and 
on  the  islands  of  Aruba,  Curacao,  Testigos,  and  Margarita. 

In  reporting  on  the  specimens  collected  by  Messrs.  Dearborn  and 
Ferry,  it  has  seemed  desirable  to  include  descriptions  of  two  new  species 
from  other  sources,  but  from  the  same  general  region.  One  of  these 
is  a  squirrel  from  Tobago  acquired  by  the  Museum  with  the  Cory 
collection  of  birds  and  the  other  is  a  deer  from  Margarita  Island,  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  C.  Freeman  of  Puerto  Viejo. 

Didelphis  marsupialis   Linnaeus. 

One  specimen,  Lake  Valencia,  Venezuela;  collected  by  N.  Dear- 
born. This  is  in  very  pale,  somewhat  worn  pelage,  chiefly  whitish, 
but  agrees  with  specimens  in  similar  condition  from  Guiana  repre- 
senting typical  marsupialis. 

Tamandua  tetradactyla  instabilis  Allen. 

One  specimen,  Orope,  Zulia,  Venezuela;  collected  by  N.  Dear- 
born. This  is  too  young  to  show  any  subspecific  characters,  but  it 
seems  reasonable  to  refer  it  to  the  Colombian  form  instabilis  rather 
than  to  typical  tetradactyla  of  Brazil.  If  it  were  assumed,  as  has  been 
done,*  that  Guiana  is  the  type  locality  of  tetradactyla,  it  might  be 
safer  on  geographic  grounds  to  refer  our  specimen  to  that  form. 


*  Allen,  The  Tamandua  Anteaters,  Bull.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  XX,  p.  391,  Oct.  1904. 

23 


24        FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY  —  ZOOLOGY,  VOL.  X. 

But  examination  of  the  principal  literature  concerned  is  convincing 
that  Brazil  and  not  Guiana  should  be  regarded  as  the  type  locality 
of  tetradactyla.  Linnaeus  based  the  name  entirely  on  Marcgrave  and 
Ray,  these  being  the  only  authors  cited  in  the  sixth  edition  of  the 
Systema,  and  only  one,  Seba,  being  added  in  the  tenth  edition. 
Marcgrave  referred  exclusively  to  Brazil,  and  apparently  Ray  also, 
since  he  uses  the  words,  "Tamandua  I  Brasiliensibus. " 1  Sub- 
sequent authors,  so  far  as  consulted,  almost  invariably  give  Brazil 
or  Brazil  and  Paraguay  as  the  habitat  of  tetradactyla.  In  one  case,2 
Brazil  is  definitely  stated  to  be  the  type  locality.  The  fact  that  the 
name  tamandua  is  of  Brazilian  origin  also  is  worthy  of  consideration. 
If,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  tetradactyla  as  Brazilian,  the 
status  of  Tamandua  t.  chapadensis  becomes  involved,  for  with  tet- 
radactyla Linnaeus,  bivittata  Desmarest,  opisthomelas  Gray,  and 
straminea  Cope,  all  from  Brazil,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  room  can  be 
found  for  still  another. 

Odocoileus  margaritse  sp.  nov. 

Type  from  vicinity  of  Puerto  Viejo,  Margarita  Island,  Venezuela. 
No.  18,137  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Adult  male.  May, 
1910.  Presented  by  C.  Freeman. 

Characters.  Size  small;  metatarsal  gland  absent,;  color  practi- 
cally as  in  0.  gymnotis;  hairy  part  of  ears  about  base  and  at  side  con- 
siderably darker,  more  grizzled ;  white  area  on  upper  throat  slightly 
more  restricted ;  median  line  of  chest  darker.  General  color  of  upper- 
parts  tawny  ochraceous  to  clay  color,  the  hairs  pale  fawn  at  base  and 
tipped  with  bright  creamy  ochraceous ;  lower  sides  and  flanks  becom- 
ing paler,  almost  cream  buff,  with  little  or  none  of  the  finely  punc- 
tulated  appearance  of  the  median  dorsal  region;  a  line  from  the  top 
of  the  head  to  the  interscapular  region  distinctly  darker  than  remain- 
ing upperparts;  upper  throat  rather  narrowly  white;  lower  throat 
and  sides  of  neck  pale. grayish  fawn,  finely  punctulated;  cheeks  same 
as  sides  of  neck;  a  well-defined  creamy  white  eye-ring,  interrupted 
on  the  upper  side  posteriorly  by  an  extension  of  buffy  from  the  top  of 
the  head;  top  of  head  with  long  coarse  hairs  tipped  with  buffy  and 
separated  from  the  grizzled  short  hairs  of  the  rostrum  and  antorbital 
region  by  an  indistinct  V-shaped  blackish  marking;  rhinarium  nar- 
rowly bordered  by  white  above  and  broadly  on  the  sides;  a  buffy 
white  marking  from  the  top  of  the  rostrum  to  the  angle  of  the  mouth 

1  Fide  Erxleben,  Syst.  Regn.  Anim  ,  p.  95,  1777.     Ray's  work  not  accessible. 

2  Miller  and  Rehn,  Proc.  Bost.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  XXX,  p.  10,  Dec.  1901. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


PLATE  II,  ZOOLOGY. 


Upper  figure  —  Type  of  Odocoileus  margaritce.     No.  18137  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History. 
Lower  figure  —  Odocoileus  gymnotis  from  La  Guaira,  Venezuela.      No.  36817  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

Reduced  2  2-5. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF   NATURAL    HISTORY. 


Upper  figure  —  Type  of  Odocoileus  margaritiv.     No.  18137  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History. 
Lower  figure —  Odocoileus  gymnotis  from  La  Guaira,  Venezuela.       No.  36817  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

Reduced  2  2-5. 


August,  1910.        MAMMALS  FROM   SOUTH  AMERICA  —  OSGOOD.        25 

and  thence  to  the  white  of  the  chin;  a  prominent  blackish  spot  on 
each  side  of  the  chin  with  an  irregular  line  of  buffy  between ;  outside 
of  ears  naked  medially,  grizzled  buffy  at  the  base  and  more  blackish 
along  the  anterior  edge,  inside  broadly  white  at  the  base  and  rather 
heavily  clothed  with  white  toward  the  tip;  underparts  broadly  brown- 
ish buff  on  the  breast  and  for  a  short  distance  posteriorly  on  middle  of 
abdomen,  the  middle  part  forming  a  distinct  dark  line;  abdomen, 
inguinal  region,  and  inner  sides  of  hind  legs  nearly  to  hock,  white; 
inner  sides  of  forelegs  white  to  the  elbow  joint,  this  white  being  un- 
connected with  that  of  the  abdomen;  front  side  and  lower  half  of 
legs  nearly  clear  buffy  ochraceous,  somewhat  paler  posteriorly;  tail 
ochraceous  above,  white  below. 

Skull  and  teeth  decidedly  smaller  than  in  O.  gymnotis;  audital 
bullae  smaller  and  more  rounded;  frontals  very  abruptly  elevated  and 
strongly  ridged  medially;  occipital  condyle  lower  than  the  palatal 
plane;  antorbital  vacuities  relatively  small;  frontals  deeply  in- 
dented between  the  base  of  the  horn  pedicel  and  the  orbit;  upper 
molariform  teeth  slightly  smaller  than  in  0.  gymnotis;  lower  molar 
teeth  also  somewhat  smaller,  but  first  and  second  lower  premolars 
actually  and  relatively  larger;  posterior  lobe  of  last  lower  molar 
reduced  to  a  slender  column.  Antlers  small  and  rugose  except  at 
points,  consisting  of  a  single  branch  with  a  slight  fork  at  the  tip  and  a 
stout  upright  subbasal  snag. 

Measurements.  Type  (dressed  skin,  measured  dry) :  Total  length 
1,415;  head  and  body  1,310;  tail  vertebrae  105;  hind  foot  293;  ear 
from  notch  no.  Skull  of  type  and  of  an  adult  male  O.  gymnotis, 
respectively:  Greatest  length  218,  261;  basilar  length  191,  230; 
tip  of  premaxillae  to  end  of  palate  136,  162 ;  zygomatic  width  90,  107  ; 
mastoid  width  70.8,  83.7;  interorbital  width  52,  63;  median  length 
of  nasals  59.5,  79;  greatest  width  of  nasals  27.4,  30;  width  between 
outer  sides  of  second  upper  molars  62.9,  73.5 ;  length  of  upper  molari- 
form series  (crowns)  64.5,  71.2;  length  of  first  and  second  lower  pre- 
molars 20,  18.4. 

Remarks.  Externally  there  is  little  except  its  smaller  size  to  distin- 
guish this  insular  species  from  its  mainland  relative  O.  gymnotis. 
Its  skull,  however,  differs  markedly  from  that  of  gymnotis  not  only 
in  size  but  also  in  many  detailed  characters,  while  in  its  abruptly 
elevated  braincase  it  differs  from  any  deer  known  to  me.  The  type 
and  only  specimen  was  secured  and  presented  by  Mr.  C.  Freeman  of 
Puerto  Viejo  in  generous  response  to  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Ferry,  who 
was  greatly  assisted  by  Mr.  Freeman  during  his  work  on  Margarita 


26        FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY  —  ZOOLOGY,  VOL.  X. 

Island.  The  deer  was  kept  alive  by  Mr.  Freeman  for  nearly  a  year, 
and  according  to  his  statement  was  about  a  year  and  a  half  old  at 
the  time  of  shipment.  It  was  received  alive  at  New  York,  May  16, 
1910,  and  there  killed  and  prepared  as  a  museum  specimen.  For 
comparison  with  it,  two  specimens  from  the  mainland  of  South 
America  have  been  available,  representing  Odocoileus  gymnotis  or  an 
allied  form.  One  of  these  is  an  adult  male  (skin  and  skull)  from  La 
Guaira,  Venezuela,  courteously  loaned  by  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
through  Mr.  N.  Hollister,  Assistant  Curator  of  Mammals ;  the  other, 
a  young  male  (skull  only)  frpm  San  Mateo  de  Caicara,  Orinoco  River 
Venezuela,  for  the  loan  of  which  the  Museum  is  indebted  to  Mr.  F.  A. 
Lucas,  Curator-in-Chief  of  the  Museum  of  the  Brooklyn  Institute  of 
Arts  and  Sciences. 

Sciurus  nesaeus  G.  M.  Allen. 

Two  specimens  of  this  well-marked  species  are  in  the  collection 
taken  by  Mr.  Ferry  on  Margarita  Island. 

Sciurus  griseogena   Gray. 

Two  specimens,  Mountains  near  Maracay,  Aragua,  Venezuela; 
collected  by  N.  Dearborn.  These  agree  very  closely  with  Gray's 
type,  with  which  they  were  compared  in  the  British  Museum.  They 
show  much  resemblance  in  general  appearance  to  5.  hoffmanni  and 
doubtless  are  closely  related  to  that  species,  though  readily  distin- 
guishable by  their  more  rufescent  tails.  Two  specimens  from  Caracas 
collected  by  Mr.  Ferry  may  be  referable  to  griseogena  also,  but  their 
general  color  is  much  paler,  being  scarcely  brighter  than  in  5.  que- 
bradensis. 

Sciurus  versicolor  zuliae  subsp.  nov. 

Type  from  Orope,  Zulia,  Venezuela.  No.  16,584  Field  Museum  of 
Natural  History.  Adult  male.  Collected  March  i,  1908,  by  Ned 
Dearborn. 

Characters.  Similar  to  Sciurus  versicolor  of  Ecuador  but  with 
black  instead  of  ferruginous  predominating  on  the  nape  and  inter- 
scapular  region ;  feet  and  upper  side  of  forelegs  scarcely  grizzled  but 
nearly  clear  ferruginous;  tail  more  broadly  black  terminally;  black 
of  back  continuous  with  that  of  proximal  part  of  tail ;  pelage  rather 
short  and  harsh.  Upperparts  chiefly  black  to  roots  of  hairs,  only 
the  lower  sides,  the  shoulders,  hips,  and  thighs  being  mixed  black  and 
ferruginous;  interscapular  region,  nape  and  top  of  head  mainly 


August,  1910.        MAMMALS   FROM  SOUTH   AMERICA  —  OSGOOD.        27 

black  with  a  light  punctulate  mixture  of  tawny  ochraceous ;  feet,  toes, 
and  upper  side  of  forelegs  clear,  rich  ferruginous;  underparts  clear 
ferruginous  with  or  without  irregular  white  markings  on  the  throat 
and  chest;  chin  and  sides  of  throat  finely  mixed  dusky  and  clay 
color,  only  slightly  paler  than  cheeks ;  upper  side  of  tail  black  proxi- 
mally  and  terminally,  the  intervening  part  clear  ferruginous  (the  hairs 
of  this  part  very  narrowly  or  quite  broadly  black  basally) ;  terminal 
black  occupying  nearly  or  quite  one-third  of  length;  under  side  of 
tail  black  with  a  broad  ferruginous  edging  in  middle  or  black  proxi- 
mally  and  terminally  with  clear  ferruginous  or  mixed  black  and  ferru- 
ginous in  middle. 

Measurements.  Type:  Total  length  440;  head  and  body  235; 
tail  vertebrae  205;  hind  foot  (s.  u.)  57;  ear  26.  Skull  of  type:  Great- 
est length  68.3;  basilar  length  45.5;  zygomatic  breadth  33.6;  inter- 
orbital  breadth  17.7;  median  length  of  nasals  18.8;  diastema,  15.5; 
crowns  of  upper  toothrow  9.4. 

Remarks.  This  form,  like  typical  versicolor,  is  doubtless  highly 
variable,  but  the  three  specimens  examined  differ  constantly  from  any 
of  a  considerable  series  of  typical  versicolor  in  at  least  three  characters, 
increased  black  across  the  shoulders  and  nape,  increased  black  on  the 
end  of  the  tail,  and  decrease  or  entire  absence  of  black  on  the  feet  and 
forelegs.  In  versicolor,  there  is  only  an  inch  of  terminal  black  in  the  tail  at 
the  most  and  many  specimens  have  the  tail  ferruginous  to  the  very  tip; 
while  in  zulics  the  terminal  black  amounts  to  as  much  as  three  inches. 
The  only  other  form  likely  to  be  related  is  Sciurus  variahilis  morulus 
of  Panama,  which  is  said  to  have  "most  of  the  hairs  above, 
ringed-blackish  at  base,  then  ferruginous,  and  blackish  again  at  tip"; 
.'hereas,  in  zulice  the  hairs  of  the  back  are  pure  black  to  the  roots. 

:iurus  tobagensis  sp.  nov. 

Type  from  Tobago  Island,  Caribbean  Sea.    No.  14,954  Field  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History.     Adult  female.     Collected  May  12,  1892,  by 
T.  W.  Brown,  Jr. 

Characters.  Similar  to  Sciurus  chapmani,  with  which  it  agrees 
in  size  and  general  coloration,  but  terminal  color  of  hairs  of  tail  paler 
md  subterminal  black  more  extensive;  sides  of  face  slightly  more 
richly  colored.  Color  of  tail  much  as  in  S.  hoffmanni,  but  size  de- 
cidedly smaller.  The  subterminal  black  in  the  hairs  of  the  tail  forms 
well-defined  lateral  stripe  about  5  mm.  in  width  extending  the 
length  of  the  tail  to  a  broad  black  tip  25  to  50  mm.  in  width.  In  chap- 
ini,  the  black  lateral  stripe  and  subapical  black  is  much  reduced 


28        FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY  —  ZOOLOGY,  VOL.  X. 

and  in  specimens  in  slightly  worn  pelage  is  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  the  grizzled  central  part  of  the  tail,  especially  when  viewed  from 
the  under  side.  General  color  of  upperparts  mixed  "peppery," 
clay  color  and  blackish ;  orbital  ring  and  sides  of  nose  clay  color  to 
ochraceous;  chest  and  belly  clear  ochraceous  rufous;  upper  side  of 
tail  from  a  point  about  50  mm.  from  its  base  to  the  black  of  the  tip 
mostly  clear  ochraceous  instead  of  hazel  or  ferruginous  as  in  chap- 
mani; tip  of  tail  black  with  few  ochraceous  hairs  intermixed  and  a 
few  of  the  black  hairs  faintly  tipped  with  ochraceous.  Skull  practi- 
cally as  in  chapmani. 

Measurements.  Type  (dry  skin):  Total  length  330;  head  and 
body  165 ;  tail  vertebrae  165 ;  hind  foot  (c.  u.)  45. 

Remarks.  The  heavy  black  tip  of  the  tail  is  the  principal  character 
distinguishing  this  form  from  5.  chapmani.  A  complete  revision 
of  this  group  of  squirrels  with  ample  material  is  necessary  before  it 
will  be  possible  to  decide  how  many  of  the  various  described  forms 
should  be  regarded  as  species  and  how  many  as  subspecies. 

Dasyprocta  variegala  colombiana   Bangs. 

One  specimen,  Orope,  Zulia,  Venezuela;  collected  by  N.  Dear- 
born. Comparison  of  this  and  other  specimens  of  the  same  form 
with  those  belonging  to  allied  forms  from  Panama  to  Peru  shows 
sufficiently  complete  intergradation  to  convince  that  at  least  colom- 
biana and  isthmica  should  be  regarded  as  subspecies  of  variegata. 

Hydrochoerus  capybara  Linnaeus. 

One  specimen  (skull  only),  Lake  Valencia,  Venezuela;  collected 
by  N.  Dearborn. 

Sylvilagus  cumanicus   Thomas. 

One  specimen,  Maracay,  Venezuela;  collected  by  J.  F.  Ferry. 
This  is  by  no  means  typical,  being  considerably  larger  and  more 
rufescent  than  the  type  of  cumanicus.  It  is  also  decidedly  larger  than 
5.  orinoci  but  agrees  closely  with  that  species  in  color.  Its  external 
resemblance  to  the  insular  form  margarita  also  is  marked.  Without 
a  series  of  typical  cumanicus,  however,  it  does  not  seem  safe  to  sepa- 
rate it  from  that  species.  Possibly  it  should  be  regarded  as  inter- 
mediate between  orinoci  and  superciliaris ,  since  it  agrees  in  color  with 
one  and  in  size  with  the  other. 

Sylvilagus  nigronuchalis  (Hartert). 

Three  specimens,  Aruba  Island,  collected  by  J.  F.  Ferry;  one 
specimen,  Curacao,  collected  by  N.  Dearborn.  The  single  adult 


August,  1910.        MAMMALS    FROM  SOUTH  AMERICA  —  OSGOOD.        29 

from  Aruba,  the  type  locality  of  this  species,  is  in  rather  worn  bleached 
.coat  much  paler  than  that  of  the  one  from  Curacao,  which  is  quite 
fresh  and  new.  The  skull  of  the  Curacao  specimen  also  differs  in 
narrower  nasals  and  interorbital  region  and  in  slightly  weaker  denti- 
tion. Without  additional  material  it  is  impossible  to  judge  of  the 
importance  of  these  differences. 

Sylvilagus  margaritae   (Miller). 

Thirteen  specimens,  Puerto  Viejo  (5),  Porlamar  (i),  and  Macanao 
(7),  Margarita  Island,  Venezuela;  collected  by  J.  F.  Ferry.  A  few 
of  this  series  have  the  under  side  of  the  tail  nearly  pure  white  and  the 
sides  lighter  and  more  grayish  than  the  back,  thus  approaching  the 
coloration  of  S.  cumanicus.  The  sides  of  the  head  and  face  are  in 
nearly  all  cases  uniform  grayish  with  slight  buffy  or  more  heavily 
grizzled  areas  below  the  eye  and  between  the  eye  and  the  ear. 

Sylvilagus  avius  sp.  nov. 

Type  from  Testigos  Islands  (Testigo  Grande),  Venezuela.  No. 
16,593  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Adult  female.  Collected 
February  14,  1909,  by  John  F.  Ferry. 

Characters.  Similar  to  Sylvilagus  margaritce  but  smaller  and 
darker;  skull  smaller  and  relatively  broader;  audital  bullae  smaller. 
Upperparts  pale  cinnamon  rufous  and  black,  the  hairs  rufous  sub- 
terminally  and  broadly  black  terminally;  shoulders  and  rump  slightly 
lighter  than  back  but  not  grayish  as  in  5.  cumanicus  and  S.  super- 
ciliaris;  top  of  head  rich  cinnamon  rufous  finely  mixed  with  black, 
darker  than  in  allied  forms;  upper  side  of  tail,  hind  legs  and  sides  of 
hind  feet  nearly  clear  cinnamon  rufous ;  a  buffy  white  line  over  the 
eye  and  a  rufous  spot  below  it ;  remainder  of  sides  of  face  pale  whitish 
clay  color  mixed  with  black,  the  black  more  intense  posteriorly  where 
it  forms  a  rather  distinct  blackish  area  between  and  below  the  eye  and 
the  ear;  underparts  dull  whitish,  strongly  tinged  with  buff  on  the 
chest  and  along  the  sides  of  the  belly  where  the  transition  to  the  color 
of  the  sides  is  rather  gradual ;  under  side  of  tail  dull  dark  buff.  Skull 
rather  short  and  broad ;  incisor  teeth  relatively  heavy ,  cheek  teeth 
weaker  than  in  margaritce;  audital  bullae  smaller. 

Measurements.  Type:  Total  length  420;  tail  vertebrae.  20;  hind 
foot  85;  ear  53.  Skull  of  type:  Greatest  length  74.5;  basilar  length 
57-7!  zygomatic  breadth  36;  interorbital  breadth  19.2;  combined 
width  of  nasals  15.6;  diastema  21.2;  width  between  outer  sides  of 
maxillary  toothrows  23.2 ;  alveolar  length  of  maxillary  toothrow  15.3. 


30        FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY  —  ZOOLOGY,  VOL.  X. 

Remarks.  This  form  and  also  S.  margarita  and  the  mainland 
forms  cumanicus,  orinoci  and  superciliaris  are  doubtless  allied  to  S. 
brasiliensis  and  5.  minensis  and  quite  probably  some,  if  not  all,  will 
eventually  be  reduced  to  subspecific  rank. 

Felis  pardalis  subsp. 

One  specimen,  a  fine  adult  male  from  Orope,  Zulia,  Venezuela; 
collected  by  N.  Dearborn.  This  differs  from  typical  pardalis  to  some 
extent  in  color  and  quite  markedly  in  crania)  and  dental  characters. 
The  form  which  it  represents  is  possibly  undescribed  but  the  con- 
fused state  of  nomenclature  caused  by  the  large  number  of  worse 
than  useless  names  given  by  earl\  authors  to  members  of  this  group 
makes  it  impossible  to  identify  specimens  without  extended  studies 
and  reference  to  material  in  museums  in  various  parts  of  the  world. 

Hormoops  megalophylla  intermedia  Miller. 

Eighty  specimens,  Curacao,  Dutch  West  Indies;  collected  by 
N.  Dearborn. 

Phodotes  tumidirostris   (Miller). 

Two  specimens,  Curafao,  Dutch  West  Indies;  collected  by  N. 
Dearborn. 

Noctilio  minor  sp.  nov. 

Type  from  Encontrados,  Zulia,  Venezuela.  No.  18,044  Field 
Museum  of  Natural  History.  Female  adult  (in  alcohol).  Collected 
February  15,  1908,  by  N.  Dearborn. 

Characters.  Allied  to  Noctilio  albiventer,  but  smaller  throughout ; 
foot,  tibia,  and  forearm  shorter;  skull  and  teeth  decidedly  smaller; 
braincase  shorter  and  more  nearly  spherical,  but  with  rather  marked 
depression  of  the  parietals  on  each  side  of  and  near  the  base  of  the 
well-developed  sagittal  crest;  supraorbital  crests  more  abruptly 
divergent ;  ml  and  m2  separated  by  a  slight  space  and  with  the  com- 
missure less  obvious  between  the  hypocone  and  the  commissure  be- 
tween the  protocone  and  the  metacone.  Ear  laid  forward,  reaching 
slightly  beyond  muzzle;  forearm  with  wings  folded  extending  4-6 
mm.  beyond  the  muzzle;  chin  with  various  small  plications,  nowhere 
smooth ;  a  lunate  lappet  below  the  central  prominence  of  the  lower 
lip  and  from  the  lower  side  of  this  an  undulate  cutaneous  ridge  extend- 
ing roughly  parallel  with  each  side  of  the  lower  lips;  below  this  lappet 
two  additional  but  smaller  and  scarcely  differentiated  median  promi- 


August,  1910.        MAMMALS   FROM    SOUTH    AMERICA  —  OSGOOD.       31 

nences  from  which  slender  ridges  extend  backward  about  6  mm. ; 
six  small  papillae  on  each  side  of  the  face,  two  pairs  behind  each  nos- 
tril and  one  pair  behind  each  upper  lip;  ear  slightly  lobulate  termi- 
nally. Color  of  upperparts  a  little  lighter  than  mummy  brown;  a 
narrow,  whitish  median  streak  from  the  interscapular  region  back- 
ward; underparts  tawny  olive,  somewhat  brighter  on  the  sides  near 
the  base  of  the  volar  membrane. 

Measurements.  Head  and  body  67;  tail  12;.  ear  conch,  inner 
margin  17.5,  outer  margin  20.5,  breadth  8.7;  tragus  4;  forearm 
58.4;  pollex  10;  3rd  metacarpal  51.5;  4th  metacarpal  52.5;  5th 
metacarpal  50.4;  foot  with  claws  15.6;  tibia  21.5;  calcar  30.5. 
Skull :  Condylion  to  front  of  canine  17.2 ;  zygomatic  width  14.6;  mas- 
toid  width  12.6;  width  of  braincase  11.2;  inion  to  anterior  division 
of  sagittal  crest  12.5;  upper  teeth,  c-m3  7.5;  width  of  m2  2.7. 

Remarks.  The  differences  between  the  above-described  species 
and  Noctilio  albiventer  are  quite  convincing  of  their  distinctness 
although  only  one  specimen  of  each  has  been  available  for  comparison. 
Of  these,  one  (the  type)  is  in  alcohol  and  the  other  is  a  dry  skin  from 
Brazil,  kindly  loaned  by  the  authorities  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
through  Mr.  N.  Hollister,  Assistant  Curator  of  Mammals.  No  com- 
parison has  been  possible  with  Noctilio  zaparo  Cabrera  but  since  that 
species  is  even  larger  than  Noctilio  albiventer  it  need  not  be  considered. 
Careful  comparison  of  -Y.  albiventer  and  -Y.  minor  with  a  specimen  of 
-Y.  leporinus  mastivus  shows  so  much  detailed  similarity  throughout 
even  to  minor  external  features  and  color,  that  it  is  difficult  to  sub- 
scribe to  their  generic  separation.  The  genus  Dirias,  with  Noctilio 
albiventer  as  type,  has  been  separated  from  Noctilio  (type  N.  lepo- 
rinus} on  the  basis  of  a  proportionately  shorter  tibia  and  foot,  slight 
spaces  between  upper  molar  teeth,  and  the  development  of  a  well- 
defined  commissure  from  the  hypocone  of  m1  and  m2  to  the  commissure 
extending  from  the  protocone  to  the  metacone.*  The  commissure 
is  not  absent  in  A*,  mastivus  but  merely  not  so  well  developed  as  in 
A .  albiventer.  But  in  N.  minor,  the  commissure  is  scarcely  more 
prominent  than  in  AT.  mastivus,  while  the  spacing  of  the  upper  molars 
is  practically  the  same  as  in  that  species,  due  allowance  being  made 
for  the  disparity  in  size.  In  dental  characters,  therefore,  A',  minor 
is  intermediate  between  "Dirias"  and  Noctilio  and  even  nearer  to 
the  latter;  while  in  the  relative  shortness  of  its  foot  and  tibia  it  differs 
from  typical  Noctilio  even  more  widely  than  does  albiventer,  the 


*  See  Miller,  The  Families  and  Genera  of  Bats,  Bull.  57,  U.S.  Nat.  Mus.,  p.  99.  1007. 


32        FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY  —  ZOOLOGY,  VOL.  X. 

genotype  of  Dirias.  Evidently  the  dental  characters  are  not  corre- 
lated with  the  length  of  the  tibia  and  foot  in  any  natural  association  of 
species,  and  since  it  is  difficult  to  see  generic  significance  in  the  relative 
shortness  of  the  tibia  and  foot,  the  recognition  of  Dirias  as  a  distinct 
genus  is  open  to  serious  question. 

Cebus  apella  leucocephalus  Gray. 

Seven  specimens,  Orope,  Zulia,  Venezuela;  collected  by  N.  Dear- 
born. One  of  these  (No.  16,567)  has  been  compared  with  the  type  of 
Cebus  leucocephalus  in  the  British  Museum.  The  type  is  somewhat 
larger  and  its  pelage  slightly  fuller  and  longer  than  in  our  specimen, 
but  the  color  is  practically  identical,  the  only  difference  being  in  the 
color  of  the  under  side  of  the  tail  which  is  slightly  darker  in  the  type. 
Comparison  has  not  been  made  with  Cebus  albifrons  and  it  is  there- 
fore somewhat  of  an  assumption  to  use  the  name  leucocephalus  as  that 
may  possibly  prove  to  be  a  synonym  of  albifrons.  However,  the 
belief  that  leucocephalus  differs  from  albifrons  is  encouraged  by  the 
original  description*  of  albifrons,  which  states  that  the  forehead  is 
black, -whereas  in  our  specimens  it  is  brown.  Moreover,  the  face  in  our 
specimens  is  scarcely  white,  but  pale  brown.  The  locality  assigned 
to  leucocephalus  by  Gray  is  simply  "Columbia"! — but  its  agreement 
with  our  specimens  makes  it  probable  that  the  exact  locality  was  at 
least  in  northeastern  Colombia  and  probably  in  western  Venezuela 
near  the  coast.  This  is  the  more  probable  since  a  well-distinguished 
form  (malitiosus)  inhabits  the  Santa  Marta  region. 


*  As  follows:    "  Sitnia  albifrons,  ex  albo  cinerascens,  vertice  nigro,  facie  caerulea,  fronte  et 
orbitis  niveis.  cruribus  et  brachiis  fuscentibus." 
t  P.Z.S.,  1865,  p.  827. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


